RWBY: A New Breed of SPARTAN
by greeny74
Summary: The Covenant has taken everything from Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. The alien juggernaut has slaughtered their parents and glassed their colony to a cinder. But when a new UNSC military program is established to create a new breed of super-soldier, Ruby and Yang are given the chance to become a shining beacon for humanity. A chance to become SPARTANs. **BACK FROM HIATUS!**
1. Prologue: Invasion

**AN: Hello! So I love RWBY. And I love Halo. I've had the idea for a RWBY/Halo crossover in my head for a while now, and I decided it was finally time for me to pull the trigger on making it a reality. This will be a hybrid AU of both the RWBY and Halo universes, so while there will be some canon aspects from both universes (mainly in the form of character names, places, and other things), there will be some parts of this story that will be entirely fictional or exaggerated from the original source material. As for how this story will play out, that's really up in the air right now. I'll write this as it comes to me, but I don't want to commit to a timetable that I might not even use. I will try to update as frequently as possible. If any of you want to help, that's fine! Send me your ideas, plot points, suggestions and I will do my best to make them a reality! Thanks, and i hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

**0930 Hours, November 15, 2525**

**Fort Castle Spaceport, **

**on surface of UNSC Colony World Patch**

* * *

_Clouds aren't supposed to be purple._

That was Ruby's first thought when she saw the glittering metallic mass hovering in the sky.

She looked back down and took in her surroundings. The huge spaceport was usually filled with dock workers and military personnel. But today it seemed it was filled with regular civilians. People were running everywhere, some screaming, some crying, some that looked like they were armed to the teeth, but everyone seemed in varying stages of emotion. Ruby glanced to her right. Her older sister, Yang, looked down at her and gave her a reassuring smile, as her golden hair swayed in the sudden breeze. But Ruby saw the worry even in her eyes. Even though Yang was adopted before Ruby was even born, that still didn't make her anything less than Ruby's sister. Yang always seemed pretty mature for a 7 year old, even though Ruby was only a year younger. Ruby always trusted her judgement. So if Yang was worried, then whatever was happening was a big deal.

"Girls, keep up!" A voice sounded ahead of Ruby. She looked up, and saw her father looking down at her, giving her the same smile Yang gave her just moments ago. "I need you girls to stay close to Mommy and me. We need to hurry if we are going to make it to the ship on time."

"Okay, Daddy." Ruby heard herself reply, still trying to focus on her surroundings. More screaming now. People continued to stream toward the small selection of ships and freighters that remained docked ahead. Warehouses, normally bustling with activity, loomed like silent towers in a sea of humanity. The faint echo of gunfire rang over the docks. What sounded like an explosion rumbled off to Ruby's left.

_It's just a huge adventure, _Ruby told herself. That's what Ruby's mother had called it, as her father burst through the front door earlier this morning, still dressed in his uniform from the army base, a rifle slung across his back. He was talking fast and loud, telling the family to pack as quickly as possible. When Yang tried to ask what was happening, their father simply said they needed to hurry to the spaceport to catch a ship off planet. When they left the house, Ruby had noticed that all their neighbours were leaving as well. That's when heard the rumbling in the sky that caused her to look up and see the giant purple cloud. The screaming started soon after.

"There it is!" she heard her father say to her mother, as Ruby looked and saw a massive shipping freighter looming ahead. "We need to get on that ship. Summer, take the girls ahead and I'll grab the-"

Ruby didn't hear the rest, as a roaring sound overhead drowned out all other noise. A ship, some sort of military transport, careened over the throngs of terrified civilians, its tail sweeping flame and smoke. Ruby watched as the ship sailed into the roof of a nearby warehouse, detonating in a concussive ball of fire.

The screaming increased a hundredfold.

Ruby's father turned towards the rest of his family. "Alright, we need to RUN! Everybody just RUN to the ship!"

Ruby felt someone grab her hand as she began to move towards the freighter. She looked up and saw it was Yang, running with surprising speed for her age. Debris started to land all around as the family sprinted towards the ship. _Wait,_ Ruby thought. _That's not debris…_

They were pods. Colored the same purple as the huge cloud.

Air hissed from cracks that appeared in their hulls.

Ruby's father froze. He pushed the three girls ahead towards the ship. "GO! I'll hold them off as long as I can!"

Summer hesitated, staring at her husband, tears welling up in her eyes, but she slowly nodded. She grabbed Ruby and Yang's hands and began to run to the freighter.

"Wait, Mommy, where's Daddy going?" Ruby cried, trying to look back. Gunfire filled the air, along with the sound of what sounded like discharging electricity

"Daddy's coming soon, sweetie." Summer replied, silently blessing Ruby's young age to not recognize the lie. "We need to get to the ship now, so I'm going to need you to run just a bit farther."

What sounded like an inhuman roar made Ruby shake with fear. She looked back. It sounded like it came from where they had left her father. _What if he was in danger?_ Ruby squirmed to try to look for her father. She managed to pull away from her mother's grasp.

"RUBY, WAIT!" she cried, as Ruby turned and ran back the way they had come, red hair blowing in the wind. Summer took off after her stubborn daughter, Yang still in her grasp.

Ruby searched for her father. She was scared, and Daddy had always made things better when things were scary. She breathed a sigh of relief when her silver eyes finally located him in the crowd of people, but terror returned when she saw what was in front of him.

The creature was enormous. It was almost twice the size of her father. It stood in front of him on two, massive armored legs. Ruby had seen this type of creature before, on the news. She didn't know much about them, but her father had said that they were aliens, and that they didn't like people all that much. It roared a guttural scream, its mouth opening like the petals of an obscene flower. Ruby's father shot at the monster with his rifle, but the alien didn't even flinch, his body shimmering with each bullet impact. The bullets didn't appear to even touch the creature's armored chest.

"DADDY!" Ruby screeched. She had to get his attention. Had to get him away from the monster. But if he had heard Ruby's desperate cry, he made no indication of running.

Light flared in the monster's claws. It looked like the creature was holding two wands of crackling energy, roughly shaped into an oval. The alien raised his arm, and thrust the oval towards her father.

Time seemed to stop as Ruby watched with horror. The glowing wands cut into her father's chest like a knife through butter. Even though Ruby was hundreds of feet away, she could still hear her father's flesh crackle as the fiery energy blade cooked his insides. He sank to his knees, eyes vacant, jaw slack. The alien roared triumph, as it brought the blade upwards in a wide arc, nearly cleaving the human in two.

Ruby Rose started to scream before her mind fully processed this scene.

The giant looked up at the sound of anguish, and roared in return. He began to step towards the little girl, armored boots thudding against the pavement.

"RUBY!" a voice from behind her screamed. Summer Rose ran up to her daughter as the alien raised a metal claw-like device that hummed with green energy. She scooped up Ruby and ran. Ruby was clutched to her mother's chest, as Yang waited further ahead, waving them forward. She looked over her mother's shoulder, back at the monster, in time to see an orb of green sail towards them. The hissing orb struck Summer in the back, causing her to shriek in agony. But she kept her stride and together the three girls ran to the freighter.

The three reached the ship and moved to the loading hatch. "We need to get on board!" Summer cried to the armed corporal guarding the hatch. There's three of us!" The corporal quickly ushered them inside. As soon as the three entered, Summer collapsed, dropping Ruby to the deck.

"Mommy!" Ruby squealed, as the crew of the freighter scrambled to seal the bulkheads of the hold. Somewhere deep within the ship, engines began to power up.

Ruby stared at her mother, who was writhing in pain on the deck. The ball of energy the alien had shot at her had turned her back into a charred mess of skin and flesh. Smoke curled up from the wound, as two medics rushed to her side, pulling bandages from their kits.

"R-Ruby…Yang, come c-closer," she whispered, her voice raw and cracked. Ruby and Yang knelt at her side, tears streaming down their cheeks. "I-I-I don't think I'll be here much l-longer…," she grimaced, as she slowly started to sag to the floor. The two medics shared a weary glance, one slowly shaking his head. The ship's engines finished powering up, and the freighter began to lift into the sky. Summer Rose looked at her daughters. "Ruby, I-I'll need you to be strong for me, okay? I'll need you to grow up into a strong woman, do you understand?"

Ruby nodded, whimpering as tears flowed like a river from her silver eyes.

Summer turned to Yang. "I'll need to you to look after your sister, Yang. You're the older one, so keep her and yourself safe."

"I will, Mom." Yang's voice cracked as she replied, but she managed to hold her tears at bay. At least for the moment.

Summer sighed as she let her head rest on the deckplates. It would be a struggle for her children, but they would be safe. She could accept that. "I love you both very much," she whispered, as she felt herself start to fade. "I know you will achieve great things…"

Summer Rose let out one last sigh as the light beckoned.

"No. No! NO! NO! MOMMY! MOMMY NO!" Ruby shrieked, as she watched her mother pass. Yang grabbed her before she could pounce on the body, and held her tight as she struggled.

"It's okay, Ruby," Yang mumbled into her sobbing sister's ear. Her lilac eyes began to water. The tears that Yang Xiao Long tried so hard to hold in came flooding out in waves. "We're gonna be okay…"

The two sisters sobbed onto each other's shoulders as the freighter roared away from the planet's surface. They were oblivious to the other survivors aboard the vessel. The ship entered open space and accelerated on an outbound vector.

Ruby wailed in agony as the other survivors stared out of the viewports. Purple clouds began to rain fire upon what was once their home.


	2. Chapter One: A Shining Beacon

**AN: Hello again! The first chapter of this story is now live! I'm really excited for how this story will turn out. I want to make a note here that, even though Ruby and Yang are the only characters listed in the story preview, I intend on introducing the other members of Team RWBY soon enough! Maybe even JNPR if I can write them well enough! Also, a minor note: I edited the prologue to this story a little bit to make the locations more descriptive. Also, at this point to the story, Ruby and Yang are still very young (6 and 7 in the prologue, 8 and 9 starting in this chapter) but they are more mature and have a better understanding of the world. It might seem a little off but for the sake of the story I'm sticking with it. Otherwise, any reviews, requests, or comment will always be helpful! Thanks, and I hope you enjoy Chapter One!**

**P.S.: Gold star to whomever can spot the RvB reference I made!**

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

**0600 Hours, December 09, 2527**

**Aboard UNSC frigate **_**Rising Sun**_**,**

**In orbit above UNSC Colony World Remnant**

**2 years after destruction of UNSC Colony World Patch**

* * *

The haze of cryo gasses faded as Ruby opened her eyes.

She sat up slowly and blinked away the blurriness. She tried to inhale, but proceeded to double over, coughing and hacking over the side of the cyro pod as her body purged the bronchial inhalant from her throat.

Ruby recovered and drew her first full breath in almost two weeks. She shivered, as the chill of cyro sleep still hung around her body. As much as she had used these facilities in the last two years, cryogenic suspension wasn't something one got used to easily. Ruby climbed out of the pod, and glanced around. The cyro bay was bustling with ship personnel, either waking crew members or just waking up themselves. A sound of coughing next to Ruby brought her attention to the only person here who she cared about. The only person she had left.

Yang sat up in her pod and gave Ruby a weary smile. "Sleep well, sis?" she said, as she stretched her muscles, aching from her long nap on ice.

Ruby looked at her sister with tired eyes. "As well as I could, I suppose," she grumbled. She took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "I had the nightmare again."

Yang sighed and stared at Ruby with a worried look. "You know, you could ask the crew to sedate you in cyro sleep so you don't dream…"

Ruby rounded on Yang, eyes filled with vehemence. "And why would I do that? I want to have these nightmares, Yang!" Ruby felt tears form in her eyes, as she turned away from her sister. "I…I want to remember them…"

Ruby felt strong arms wrap her from behind. "Don't worry, Ruby," Yang whispered into her ear. "We will never forget them. That's why we're here now."

The days following the destruction of Patch were dark for Ruby and Yang. The freighter they were on was only one of maybe 7 ships that managed to flee the system before the alien conglomerate known as the Covenant completely annihilated their home. The footage that made its way to the newsreels made Ruby and Yang sob in despair those first few days: images of purple alien vessels launching plasma bombardments that melted buildings into slag, turned rivers into steam, and scorched the very ground to glass. But it wasn't just the pictures that wrecked the two sisters. It was the memories that they refreshed.

_A blade of energy cutting their father in two. A bolt of plasma striking their mother in the back. Watching her die on the deck of a fleeing freighter while their home burned._

Ruby and Yang were alone. When the freighter finally landed at the nearby colony of Vale, the two girls were taken by UNSC personnel to a nearby base. After receiving what seemed like a half-hearted condolence from a grim-faced lieutenant, they were offered the chance to be admitted into Signal Academy, a local UNSC-sponsored military school for orphans. "It's the least we could do for you girls, given your father's service to the UNSC," the lieutenant had said. "We can house you in the school dorms, feed you, cloth you, make sure you two are taken care of until you can care for yourselves. And, if you want to join the UNSC when are old enough, a diploma from Signal will basically guarantee entry into any Officer Candidate School you wish to attend." Ruby and Yang, not having much of a choice, had agreed.

The two girls, desperate for distractions, had thrown themselves into their schoolwork. They steadily rose to the top of their class, with perfect scores in most of their subjects. Almost two years after they enrolled, the girls had transcripts that even rivaled some OCS candidates. Considering their young age, it was all the more impressive. But the empty feeling remained, especially for Ruby. It didn't help that psychologists kept asking her questions about the day her parents died, forcing her to recall the events. Every night when she slept, she relived the day her parents died over and over. At first, the nightmares woke her every night, soaked with sweat and screaming. Over time, however, Ruby used the horrible images as motivation. _One day, I'm going to be strong enough to destroy them all,_ she always thought to herself. _I will kill the monsters that killed my family._

Yang was distraught over the loss of her parents as well, but not on the same level as Ruby. Yang was worried that Ruby might push herself too far, so she vowed to stick by Ruby's side for whatever life could throw at them. Which is how they wound up here.

A few weeks ago, Ruby and Yang were approached by a smartly dressed Petty Officer while on their lunch break at Signal. He handed the girls an envelope, said he was ordered to deliver it to them, and left without explaining the contents. Curiosity piqued, the two girls opened the envelope to find a letter from a UNSC Navy Major Glynda Goodwitch, requesting that Ruby and Yang travel to the colony world Remnant to meet with her for the chance to join a new school. If they agreed, they would leave Signal later that week and board an outbound frigate to Remnant, where the new school was located. Ruby and Yang spent the night discussing it, and decided that moving to a new school would be a good thing for them. They received clearance to take a shuttle up to the waiting UNSC _Rising Sun_, and prepared to leave their home for the last two years, towards a new horizon.

Ruby and Yang broke apart, and proceeded to don their Signal cadet uniforms. These were the only official clothes they owned, and it felt prudent to look as well kept as possible if they were going to meet with a UNSC officer.

"So, what now?" Ruby asked, looking around the cryo bay. No one appeared to be waiting for them. "Where do we go?"

"I believe I can be of some assistance," a disembodied voice said, causing both Ruby and Yang to jump slightly. They turned towards the sound of the voice.

A holographic projection stand warmed and the image of a young woman in a flowing dress materialized. "My name is Aurora. I'm the _Rising Sun_'s A.I."

Yang looked confused. "A.I… What's the 'A' stand for?"

"Artificial," Aurora replied.

"What's the 'I' stand-"Yang started to ask.

"Intelligence."

"Oh." Yang still looked confused. "What's the 'A' stand for again?"

Aurora looked exasperated. "I thought you two were supposed to be smart?"

Ruby and Yang shared a look and started to giggle. "I'm sorry, Aurora," Yang said as she caught her breath. "I couldn't resist. We know what an A.I. is."

"Can you help us though?" Ruby asked with seriousness in her voice. "We are supposed to meet a Major Goodwitch here."

"Of course," Aurora answered. Data scored up her holographic side. "Major Goodwitch is waiting for you two in Conference Room 17-B. Would you like me to guide you there?"

Yes, please," Ruby said. She and Yang gathered their duffels and proceeded towards the conference room, following Aurora's direction.

After a short walk through the halls of the frigate, Ruby and Yang arrived at the conference room. "Here we are." Aurora said. You can go right in."

"Thanks," Ruby said. She and Yang walked inside.

A tall blonde woman was sitting at the conference table, studying a number of file on her data pad.

Aurora projected herself into the conference room. "Major Goodwitch, Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long are here to see you." she announced.

The Major looked up from her pad. "Thank you, Aurora. That will be all. You are dismissed."

Aurora nodded. "Yes, ma'am." Her projection dissolved.

Major Goodwitch gestured at two seats at the table. "Sit. Both of you."

Ruby and Yang complied. The Major set aside her data pad and focused on the two children in front of her. "My name is Major Goodwitch. I'm the assistant director of a new UNSC program which will be explained to you shortly. I assume that you both have many questions, but I'd like to begin by going over your history before you arrived at Signal. What happened to you on Patch? I want to hear your account of the events that transpired."

Ruby and Yang were floored by this request. This woman wanted them to recount the worst day of their lives? It seemed like yet _another_ psych evaluation. Yang felt Ruby tense up next to her. Ruby was clearly disturbed by the request. Yang spoke up. "Ma'am, I don't think we would be comfortable talking about that-"

"You will tell me about those events, or I will send you straight back to Signal." Goodwitch said with an air of finality.

Yang started to get angry. She started to conjure a response, but Ruby spoke first.

"Why do you want to know?" she shouted. "More to the point, why do not already know?" Ruby had answered these types of questions hundreds of times over the last two years, and she was getting pretty tired of it. "We lost our parents that day! Our home was burned! Yang and I watched our mother and father die right in front of us! Slaughtered like animals! And now people like you want to prod us and find out how we feel about it? I'll tell you how I feel! I'm FURIOUS! I'M DISTRAUGHT! ALIENS MURDERED MY FAMILY! I WANT TO GET STRONG SO I CAN KILL ALL THE COVENANT!"

Ruby was standing up now, shaking with fury. Yang tried to grab her, but the switch appeared to have been thrown. "So now that you have your answer, what are you going to do with us?" she screamed.

Major Goodwitch seemed stunned. She touched a control switch on the table. "You may come in now, sir." She said.

A door slid open behind the Major. A man in full UNSC dress walked in. The silver wings of a full bird colonel flashed on his shoulders.

"Do you know who I am?" The man asked Ruby.

Ruby flinched. She liked to think that ever since watching her parents die, she wasn't afraid of anything anymore. But the way this man carried himself, the authority that radiated off of him, Ruby couldn't help but feel a little fear. "N-n-no sir," she stammered.

"I'm Colonel Ozpin," the man said. He gestured to the Major." Major Goodwitch here is my Executive Officer. And, to answer your question, Miss Rose, I wish to offer you a chance to do what you desire to do."

Ruby sat in her seat, a look of confusion on her face. "W-what I desire, sir?"

"To kill the Covenant. To destroy the one who took you parents. Burned your home."

Ruby gasped. _A chance for revenge!_ "O-okay, I'm listening."

Ozpin sat at the table. "You see, you and your sister were chosen to meet here for a very specific reason. It wasn't just your grades at Signal, although that certainly was a plus." He smiled. "You two have lost everything you hold dear. And, like those who have lost everything, you two are ready to fight against those who took it from you."

Ozpin took the data pad from Major Goodwitch. "I want to offer you two the chance to join a new military program. The UNSC is struggling in the war against the Covenant. The loss of life among our soldiers is too severe, as many of them are not strong enough to face the Covenant in battle. Our objective with this program is to train new, younger soldiers with exceptional minds and strengths, and, when they are old enough, physically augment them to increase their abilities. You do know what 'augment' means?

"You're going to surgically enhance them." Yang said, a look of worry on her face. "You're building super-soldiers."

"Quite so." Ozpin replied. "That is why I am offering you two the chance to participate. The UNSC cannot force someone of your age into service. Normally, we would have to ask your parents to allow you to participate, but, seeing as they have passed, we are asking you instead."

Ruby was in awe. She thought of her mother's last words to her: _"I know you will achieve great things."_ This was her chance to live up to her mother's request and avenge her death. She could do this. She looked at Yang. She didn't seem as enthusiastic about it as she was. "There has to be risks to this," Yang said to Ozpin. "What happens if we are seriously hurt?"

Ozpin sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you Miss Xiao Long. There is tremendous risk. The training will be very intense and severe, especially since you are so young. We will teach you to be the ultimate weapon, a perfect soldier. The enhancement we will make to you bodies will be some of the worst pain one can experience. That is, if you even survive the procedures. But unfortunately, in order to rebuild you, we first must break you."

Yang looked appalled. "Ruby, you can't be seriously considering this!"

Ruby turned to Yang. "Why not? I have nothing else to live for! Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to strike back at the monsters who took everything at us? THEY KILLED OUR PARENTS, YANG!"

Yang was stunned. Ruby was entirely committed to getting revenge on the Covenant. Yang wanted revenge too. Every day for the last two years she had fantasized about killing the monsters who destroyed her life.

She was just afraid to find how far she would have to go to achieve such a goal.

Ozpin cleared his throat. "Look, girls. I can't promise you that you will survive the procedures. I can't even promise you that you will survive the training. But there is one thing I can promise you. If you complete this program, you will be part something special. You will be a symbol of hope, not just for yourselves, not just for the UNSC, but for all of humanity. For us, _as a species_. You will be the shining beacon for our race to rally behind. We could end the Covenant threat once and for all."

Ruby and Yang shared a look. Both could read each other's faces. Their decision was clear.

"We'll do it." They said in unison.

"Very good," Ozpin said. "Welcome to the SPARTAN Program.


	3. Chapter 2: Falling Towards the Sky

**Hello, everyone! Happy New Year! So, like I had said before, updates to this story were going to be fairly slow coming, and with finals, Christmas shopping, and finishing a couple other fanfics, I didn't get to work on this as much as I had hoped. But I'm back with a brand new chapter! A few notes: If you have read Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, you might recognize that I pretty much rewrote a chapter from that here. I do apologize if you are mad about that, but it was just the way it flowed for me. Also, a few questions came up on what type of colony Remnant was. For now, Remnant is an Inner Colony, and is sort of a hybrid between Reach and Onyx from the Halo Universe. I have no idea on what to name any of the cities on Remnant yet, but I will gladly take suggestions. That being said, I hope you enjoy the next chapter! Hopefully the lull in between chapters is not too long!**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO**

**1700 Hours, December 12, 2527**

**Onboard Albatross dropship, on descent to Beacon Military Academy,**

**On surface of UNSC Colony World Remnant**

Ruby looked out of the window port of the dropship as it shot towards the surface of the planet. The heat of reentry caused yellow flames to lick the side of the craft.

Ruby sighed. She was feeling a mix of emotions. Curiosity, anger, fear, and nervousness roiled inside her as the dropship shook from turbulence. After two days of physical exams, written tests, and health screenings, Ruby and Yang were finally en route to their new…well, school was a loose term.

_My new life begins today,_ Ruby thought to herself, as the turbulence passed and the dropship entered the atmosphere. _Today I begin my training_.

Ruby felt a nudge on her shoulder. She looked to see Yang smiling back. "Everything okay?" she asked.

Ruby returned the smile. "Yeah, just nervous, that's all. I wonder what training will be like. Do you think it will be anything the combat classes we took at Signal?"

Yang shrugged. "It will probably be more advanced. Remember what the colonel said. This won't be easy for us, but if we work hard, we can achieve anything." Yang squeezed Ruby's shoulder. "Besides, it's not like we're the only ones here."

Yang had a point. The dropship was packed with kids, all around the same age. Ruby did not recognize anyone else from Signal.

The door to the cockpit opened and a grizzled sergeant stepped into the troop bay. "We're preparing to land," he said. "Stay in you seats with your harnesses fastened until the back hatch drops. Then, make your way onto the parade grounds in an orderly fashion."

Ruby looked out of the window port one last time to see other dropships descending towards the military complex now visible below. It had a similar layout to Signal: squat barracks, a towering air control building, firing ranges and obstacle the dropship sank and touched down on the landing pads at the edge of the grassy parade grounds.

With the hiss of hydraulics, the rear hatch opened and a ramp extended. Ruby, Yang, and almost 30 other children thundered down the ramp and onto the grass field.

Ruby could see more children streaming from the other dropships, which had all landed on the edge of the parade grounds. They were all around her age, a mix of both boys and girls. Ruby didn't see anyone that she recognized, not that she expected to.

The sun was setting, mixing ruddy orange light with the artificial white of the base's bright stadium lighting.

Ruby was caught up in observing her surroundings that she didn't notice there was someone in front of her until she crashed into her. The two girls tumbled to the grass.

"Hey! Watch it, you dolt!"

Ruby picked herself up of the ground. She looked down to see the girl she had collided with. She had long white hair formed into a ponytail. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Ruby squeaked, as she extended her hand to help the girl up.

The girl batted Ruby's hand away and pulled herself up off the ground. She brushed herself off and gave Ruby an icy stare. "Just watch where you're going next time, dunce!" she replied. She turned on her heels and stalked off.

Yang stepped forward as Ruby watched the girl walk way. "Yeesh, that girl's got an attitude."

Ruby was about to reply, but the sound of a throat clearing sounded over the PA speakers.

Ruby, Yang and over 300 other children focused their attention on the stage set at one end of the grassy field. Two figures stood there: a man and a woman. The man spoke into a microphone.

"Hello there. We have all met before, but allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Colonel Ozpin, and this is Major Goodwitch." He gestured towards the Major before resuming his open remarks. "I understand that most of you are still confused, frightened, or angry about the reason you were selected to join this new program. The truth is, you all share one common point: you all wish to strike back at the ones who have destroyed your lives. Many of you have lost their families to the Covenant's attacks on Atlas, Vacuo, Mountain Glenn, and Patch. The Covenant had made orphans of you all."

Ruby's eyes watered with tears as she bristled at the colonel's casual mention of Patch's destruction. She forced the tears away as she continued to listen.

"Our goal with this program is to transform you all into the pinnacle of military prowess. We wish to recreate you into a razor-edged weapon. You will become the best that we can make you. You will become the protectors of Earth and all her colonies."

A murmur of excitement reverberated throughout the crowd.

Colonel Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing. "However, our resources for this program are limited. As such we only have 100 slots available for training. Seeing as there is over 300 of you, we have come up with a way to select those who truly wish to become a SPARTAN."

Ruby tensed. _Another test? What if I fail? What if I miss the cut?_

The colonel turned to Major Goodwitch and whispered something to her. The Major stiffened, but slowly nodded. She stepped to the microphone. "All right, I want all of you to return to the dropships that you rode in on the trip here."

A wave of confusion rippled throughout the crowd. Ruby looked back at Yang, who shrugged her shoulders.

Goodwitch sighed. "Well, it looks like we have some washouts. Am I to understand that NONE of you wish to be SPARTANS?"

A chorus of "no's" echoed amongst the children. The Major glared at the crowd. "Then I gave you all an order! Board the dropships! Double time!"

Ruby jolted as if she had been shocked. She and everyone else scampered back towards the ships.

"Drill instructors!" the Major shouted. A dozen men in fatigues snapped to attention.

"You will find Nevermore Air Wing drop packs aboard your designated dropships. Get aboard and make the children ready for airdrop. Their safe deployment is now your responsibility."

The DIs rushed to their ships.

The Major turned to Colonel Ozpin. "You're going to make them jump? At night?"

Colonel Ozpin nodded. "The Nevermore units are the safest drop packs. If they can accomplish a night jump at their age, then the can handle anything we can throw at them."

_At least, I hope,_ the colonel thought to himself.

* * *

Ruby was not ashamed to admit it. She was terrified.

The dropship had reached a high enough altitude for a "safe" drop, at least that's what the drill instructor had said as he opened the rear hatch. A hurricane of air roared outside, chilling the interior of the troop bay.

Ruby looked around. At least she didn't appear to be the only one that was afraid. 30 kids were all in varying degrees of fear. Even the white haired girl from earlier had a look of terror on her face.

Ruby looked at Yang, who was strapped in next to her. Yang gave her sister a reassuring thumbs up. But Ruby could see the worry even in her eyes.

"Check your straps!" the DI yelled over the roaring air. Ruby pulled at the straps of the air foil that she was given. It sat snug around her shoulders.

A buzzer sounded and everybody's harnesses were released. The DI moved to the rear hatch.

"All right, listen up! You will all line up here," he nudged a line of tape on the deck with his boot, "and when I give the signal, you jump! Once you are in the air, count to ten, then pull this cord." He mimed pulling the red handle of the air foil. "Once your canopy has been deployed, make your way down back to the grass field. You will have straps to steer with. The left one will turn you left. The right one will turn you right. Any questions, speak up now!"

No one said anything.

"All right! Who is first?"

"Oh, ME! ME ME ME!" A girl with orange hair and blue eyes shot her hand up.

The DI nodded. "Good girl. Up you go."

The girl stepped up to the line and waited for the DI to give her the signal. As soon as she heard "GO!" she jumped off the ramp with a roaring "WHOOO!" The wind ripped her away from the dropship.

"Next!" the DI screamed.

A line formed. Ruby found herself in the middle of the pack, with Yang in front of her. The next couple of kids jumped without incident. Then a wiry boy stepped up to the line. He peeked over the edge, then stumbled back in terror. "NO! NO I CAN'T!" he wailed as he crab walked backwards.

"NEXT!" the DI roared, ignoring the boy.

More kids jumped. A few more washed out, cowering away in the rear of the troop bay. Then it was Yang's turn.

She stepped up, turned to give her sister a reassuring wink, and jumped off screaming.

Ruby was next.

She tiptoed to the line and peered over the lip of the hatch. Nothing but black greeted her.

_I can't do this,_ Ruby thought as a twinge of panic coursed through her. _This is crazy-_

"Hey, quit stalling, you dolt!" a familiar voice sounded behind her. Ruby turned to find the white-haired girl from earlier staring back at her.

Ruby growled and turned back to the hatch. _Just do it_, she thought. _Just step forward and-_

"JUMP ALREADY, YOU DUNCE!" the girl screeched, as she shoved Ruby off the ship.

* * *

Ruby Rose screamed until the air ran out of her lungs. She spun as she fell, the twilight sky blending into a blur of purple.

She shook her head and tried to regain her composure. She spread her arms and controlled her spin.

_Pull the cord._

The handle! She had to pull it! Ruby groped on her chest, trying to locate the red handle. Her fingers found purchase, and she yanked as hard as she could. She felt the air foil explode out of her pack, and her harness experienced a bone-jarring yank as the black canopy unfurled and caught the air, forcibly slowing her descent.

She felt the steering loops in her hands, and discovered how to work them quickly enough. She looked down. She was still very high up, but could make out a green patch on the surface: the parade grounds.

Ruby controlled her breathing. She mentally kicked herself for being so terrified. _I have to be stronger,_ she thought, as the field loomed closer. _Maybe if I felt that I am already dead, maybe then I would have nothing to fear._

Ruby pulled the loops to quicken her descent. She wanted to be the first one down. She wanted to land right in front of the colonel, to show him how unafraid she was.

A gust of wind made her canopy rise a bit, causing her to overshoot the stage. Ruby braced her knees as she landed on the hard ground, practically running along the earth until her canopy tangled on a fence.

Ruby unbuckled her harness and shakily stepped forward. She felt a liquid sensation trickle down her leg. _Was I really so scared that I pissed myself?_ She reached her hand back and rubbed her legs. It came back red with her blood. The rushing air had chaffed her skin raw.

She laughed. Blood or piss, what did it matter? She made it.

"Hey! What's so funny?"

Ruby turned and found that the white-haired girl had landed in her tangled chute a few yards away. Ruby stalked over to her.

The girl finished untangling herself from her canopy and stood up, brushing herself off. She held out her hand in apology. "Sorry for-"

Ruby didn't let her finish. She launched a punch straight into the girl's left eye, knocking her flat onto her back.

Ruby was furious. When this girl called her names and treated her like garbage, that she could handle. But this time she literally pushed her out of the dropship. She could have killed her! _For that,_ Ruby thought, _she would pay dearly._

Ruby moved in to continue to attack the girl, but she lashed out with a kick to Ruby's chest, sending her stumbling back. The girl got up and leapt onto Ruby, pulling hair and landing punches wherever she could. Ruby fought back just as hard.

The crack of a gunshot caused both girls to freeze. They both turned to see Major Goodwitch and Colonel Ozpin looking down on them. The Major held a smoking pistol.

"That will be quite enough." She said, holstering her pistol. She scrutinized the two girls. "You two like to fight, eh? I think you two would benefit from being paired together." The Major consulted her data pad, bringing up the two candidates' information. "From here on out, Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, you two will be partners. Now shake hands, that that is an _order._"

Ruby and Weiss glared at each other, but did as the Major ordered. Ruby stared at Weiss' face. Her punch had opened a large gash above the white-haired girl's eye. It wept blood down the side of her face.

The major nodded, satisfied. "Now, let's get you two to the medical tent. Follow us, please."

As the two girls followed, the Major leaned over to Colonel Ozpin and whispered, "That much fight left in in them after their first jump? A night jump? Lord, I only hope the rest of them are like this."


	4. Chapter 3: Training Begins

**Hello again! So Chapter 3 is finally, FINALLY live. I want to explain my absence, but I will do so in a proper note following this chapter. For now, enjoy. **

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

**0455 Hours, December 13, 2527**

**Beacon Military Academy **

**UNSC Colony World Remnant**

Ruby dreamed of monsters.

_Monsters clad in shimmering armor_**. **_Monsters short and tall, tearing humans to pieces. A particular tall creature, splitting her father in half with a lance of fire. Her mother, speared with plasma as if she had been struck by lightning. And herself, too young and weak to do anything but scream at the monsters. Powerless to do anything. _

_The sound of trumpets…_

"Time to get up, trainee!"

Ruby moaned and rolled over. She was vaguely aware that this was not her dorm at Signal, that she was somewhere new entirely…

"I SAID GET UP, TRAINEE! DO YOU KNOW WHICH WAY UP IS?"

Ruby groaned and rose from her bunk. She realized that the trumpet was in fact the morning reveille. As for the shouting voice that woke her…

She looked at the end of her bunk and saw a large man in fatigues glaring at her. His ashen hair was closely buzzed, and he sported a neatly trimmed mustache. He looked furious.

"I'm not going to ask you again, boot! Get up NOW, or I'll wake you up!" He flicked his wrist and a baton extended in his hand. Electricity crackled from the tip.

Ruby knew what the device was. It was called a humbler, essentially a very long and powerful taser. Ruby suddenly found the motivation to scramble out of bed. She quickly stepped in line with the rest of her fellow trainees, who all appeared to have been as rudely awoken as she was. She looked up at Yang, who had slept in the bunk below her. A slight look of worry creased her face.

The man stepped into the middle of the hallway between the bunks, eying the trainees with disdain. "Now that you are all awake, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Drill Sergeant Peter Port, but to you, I am just Sergeant Port, or better yet, just Sergeant. I will be your drill instructor for the foreseeable future. When I ask you a question, when I give you an order, the first and last words out of your mouths had better be 'Sir'. Are we clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" the trainees echoed.

Port frowned. He turned on his heel and strode to the exit. "You all have 10 minutes to shower and clothe yourself and report to the parade grounds. You will find your trainee uniforms in the chests at the foot of your bunks. Any trainee who is late will run ten miles on the track. Now move it! Double time!"

Ruby, Yang and 48 other children moved with purpose.

The trainees stripped out of their night clothes and crowded into the large unisex showers. Jets of lukewarm water activated as the trainees frantically washed themselves. Ruby finished as fast as she could and rushed back to her bunk. She opened her footlocker to find a set of gray sweats with R. ROSE stenciled on the front. She quickly got dressed and rushed out of the barracks.

She made it to the parade grounds before any other trainee. Slowly the rest of the children made their way to the grass field, streaming from the barracks. Yang located her sister and moved towards her.

Before they could say anything, the sound of a whistle brought everyone to a stop. 150 children turned their head to the sound of the whistle. Sergeant Port was standing next to Major Goodwitch. The Major held a megaphone.

"Good morning, trainees!" she shouted. "Welcome to your first day of training. Please find your partners and prepare for morning calisthenics."

A flurry of movement started as the trainees found their partners. Yang gave Ruby an apologetic shrug as she left to meet up with a slim raven-haired girl. Ruby looked around for her partner, wincing when she saw the white-haired girl stalking towards her.

Weiss looked pissed. The cut that Ruby had inflicted the night before was almost already healed. However, an angry red scar ran down the side of her scowling face, bisecting her left eye.

Ruby backed away, hands up defensively. She regretted her course of action the previous night, and figured that it was best to lead off with an apology. "Look, uh, Weiss, right? I'm sorry about…"

Weiss shoved Ruby hard to the ground. Ruby recovered quickly, but before she could retaliate, Weiss' words ripped into her.

"Look, you dolt. You don't like me, and I sure as hell don't like you. But like it or not, we're stuck together. So as long as we stay out of each other's way, we won't have an issue. Got it?'

Ruby nodded meekly.

The Major waited until everyone had paired with their assigned partners. "They're all yours, Sergeant. Don't push them too hard," she added with a sly smile. She turned to leave. Sergeant Port turned to face the crowd. A dozen DIs stepped into position.

"ALL RIGHT, TRAINEES! Let's start off the day with some push-ups! How does 100 sound?"

A chorus of groans rippled throughout the pack of children.

Port chuckled. "Well, good thing I don't care what you think! He got to position. "Sound off! And that's one, two, three…"

Ruby and the rest of the trainees dropped and began the pushups. A few resisted at first, but the DIs descended upon them, forcing them down with a punch to their guts.

Ruby somehow managed to keep up. She was in good shape for her age, but never before had she or any one of the other trainees been subjected to such a workout before. Ruby muscles burned as she finished the set. She stood, already weak from the constant exercise.

"Jumping Jacks!' Port shouted. "The first trainee to quit earns themselves AND their partners a ten-mile run! And one, two…"

Ruby began jumping, glaring at Weiss to her right. The white haired girl glared back, her look screaming "Don't you dare quit."

And so the morning continued. Sergeant Port led the trainees through sit-ups, squats, leg lifts, mountain climbers, and all other sorts of other exercises. Many trainees vomited, Ruby included. It only bought her a brief moment of respite, as a trainer came over after a few seconds.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Sergeant Port signaled for a halt. "Time to rest, trainees! Bring out the water."

Trainers wheeled carts laden with water bottles to the exhausted children. Ruby grabbed one and gulped half of it down in one go. She flopped onto her back, sweat pouring down her face.

Ruby began to think what she had gotten herself into. There was no way she was going to survive this. If she felt this bad on the first day, how the hell was she going to keep this up?

_Remember why you are doing this,_ her mind said. _Remember the reason you agreed to do this training. It will be tough but it will be worth it in the end._

Ruby lay there for a few more minutes until she heard Sergeant Port speak again.

"A good start to the day, trainees! Now we run. Fall in!"

150 children fell into step with the Sergeant, jogging at as steady as a pace their tired muscles could allow. The trainees proceeded to run all over the base: around the barracks, along the fence boundaries, and past the landing strip, where transports roared into the sky. The run seemed to last for hours. Ruby's strength started to fade, but she kept pushing herself forward, motivated by the reason she was here to begin with. The group wound through a wooded area, following a narrow path to an open clearing. The trainees were ordered to halt. Ruby doubled over, gasping for breath. As she recovered, she noticed wheat the group had stopped in front of.

It was a sprawling obstacle course. A maze of wooden beams, rope ladders, and poles wound around each other. One metal pole stood taller than the rest. At the top hung a little brass bell.

"All right, trainees, you and your partner need to find another pair to join with for this exercise."

Ruby saw Weiss moving towards her, a frown on her exhausted face. "Any idea on who you want to pair with?" Ruby asked her.

Weiss looked up and grimaced. "I don't care. I don't even want to be with you."

Ruby sighed and looked around for Yang. She found her walking towards them, the raven-haired girl from earlier following behind.

"Hey, Ruby. How ya feeling?" Yang said wearily. Ruby let out a wordless sigh of exhaustion as a response. Yang chuckled. She motioned to the girl behind her. "This is Blake, my partner."

"Ruby." The red-head introduced herself.

"I'm Weiss." the white haired girl replied.

The weary Blake bowed her head in greeting.

Sergeant Port blew a whistle to get the attention of the children. "All right, listen up! Today's challenge is something I like to call, 'Ring the Bell.' You are all in teams of four. You objective is to have all four members of your team find a way to climb the structure and ring the bell. There are several ways to reach the bell. I'll leave it you to decide which route to take. Once all your teammates have run the bell, you will all then return to me here. The first team to have all four members ring the bell and return here will win a very special prize: exemption from tomorrow's exercises."

Every team tensed and looked at each other. Ruby almost salivated at the thought of a full day of rest after her experience with the morning calisthenics. She glanced at her sister. Yang looked equally enthusiastic to win.

"I'll give you all 5 minutes to strategize on how to complete this course. Good luck."

Ruby looked and scrutinized the mess of beams and poles, searching for a route through the structure. A moment later, she found a path; a rope ladder on the far side of the course led straight to the top of the pole where the bell was mounted. "Look," she whispered to the other three girls. "That ladder will take us right to the top. It's a long climb, though." She flexed her forearms, muscles burning.

Yang peered at the course. "We'll have to work together on this. Make sure none of us get left behind."

"TEAMS! Make ready!" Sergeant Port shouted. He drew is pistol from his belt.

Weiss scoffed at the other three. "Work together? With you plebeians? Absurd. I can do this by myself." The white haired girl got into a stance, ready to sprint.

Ruby was floored with the selfish and uppity attitude from Weiss. She didn't have time to retort, as Sergeant Port pointed his pistol in the air.

"On my mark! Three, two, one, MARK!" He fired into the air, pistol cracking.

A roar sounded as 150 children charged towards the course.

Ruby ran as fast she could for the rope ladder. Yang and Blake kept pace just behind her. But Weiss seemed determined to show up everyone else. She shot like a rocket ahead of the pack, reaching the ladder and beginning the long climb to the top just as Ruby, Yang and Blake caught up.

The three girls started the climb, Ruby leading ahead. She looked up as she climbed, noticing the other trainees scrambling up the structure as everyone raced through different paths to the bell. Weiss was already almost halfway to the top. "Wait, Weiss! We all have to ring the bell!"

* * *

Weiss heard the little redhead beneath her cry out to her, pleading for her to slow down. She smirked to herself as she continued to climb, determined to be the first one to ring the bell. _If I can do that, I can prove I'm the best here,_ she thought. Weiss want to prove to the rest of these trainees that she was better than them all. Her father had taught her that being anything less than first was unacceptable. It was one of the last lessons he had taught her…

Two years ago, Weiss had lived with her mother and father on Atlas, one of the UNSC's smaller but most productive Outer Colonies. Weiss' father was the CEO of the Schnee Colonial Company, a large manufacturer of everything from farm equipment to cutting edge military tech. The SCC was easily one of most wealthy corporations in all of humanity, and it showed in the Schnee family's extravagant lifestyle. Atlas was the new base of operations for the SCC, and Weiss and her family had lived in their cushy HQ all her life.

Then the Covenant came.

The alien menace swept aside the small UNSC fleet stationed in orbit with ruthless ease, and proceeded to cleanse the planet of the human population. Due to his connections Weiss' father had managed to send his only daughter off planet via a chartered shuttle before the Covenant fully began their attack, but the five year old was forced to watch as the alien vessels glassed Atlas to a cinder, murdering her parents. The SCC was practically obliterated, with any other company assets still existing off planet either liquidated or sold to rival companies. Weiss Schnee, once the daughter of one of the most powerful humans in the universe, was now just a lost little girl, an orphan of the Human-Covenant War.

* * *

_Which brings me back to here,_ Weiss thought, as she focused on the task at hand. Weiss needed to make something of herself. She jumped at the chance to become a SPARTAN, because she knew it would make her great again. It would allow her to regain her honor and exact revenge on the monsters who destroyed her family.

The top of the ladder was almost in reach now, as Weiss continued to climb at a feverous pace, determined to be the first trainee to ring the bell. She took a moment to look around the structure. The majority of the children were struggling to make it up to the bell. Ruby and the rest of her "teammates" were directly below her on the rope ladder, but Weiss would still be the first to ring the bell. Satisfied, she continued her climb. She stepped onto another rung…which decided at that moment to completely snap. Weiss lost her footing and almost slipped off the ladder, one hand desperately gripping to the rope.

The white haired girl frantically tried to pull herself back up, but her arms, already weak from the morning's exercises and her previous frantic climbing. Slowly, her grip loosened, and Weiss Schnee began to plummet to the ground.

Before a hand shot out to grasp hers in a surprisingly iron grip.

Weiss, just now recovering from the shock of slipping and the fear of falling to the ground below, looked up to see the girl who she had fought with before, red hair whipping in the wind, clutching her hand while still grabbing the ladder. "I…uh…I…was…uh…" Weiss stammered.

Ruby grimaced, hoisting Weiss back onto the ladder. "Don't worry about it. We're partners. We may have our problems, but I wasn't gonna let you die just because we fought each other." She motioned with her head to the top of the ladder, where the bell hung. Now, come on," she said with a smile. "We have a bell to ring."

The four girls finished their climb and grouped together on the small platform just beneath the bell. Ruby gestured to Weiss, allowing her to be the first to ring it, to which she graciously accepted. Weiss grasped the ringer and rattled it back and forth. The bell clanged loudly, a sweet sound for the four weary girls. Ruby, Yang, and Blake proceeded to ring it as well, completing the task.

The four girls slid down the metal pole and regrouped at the bottom. They took off in a sprint, rushing to be the first team across the line. It didn't matter. No other team was even close.

"We have a winner!" Sergeant Port bellowed as the four exhausted girls staggered past him. He walked over to the team, now sprawled out on the grass, panting. "Well done, you four. I think we can expect great things from you."


	5. Important Announcement

**So, I feel I owe all my followers an explanation for my absence from writing these last few weeks. This month of February has quite possibly been one of the worst months of my life. First, as most of you are aware, I was devastated by learning of the loss of the dear creator of RWBY, Monty Oum. Apart from finding something to do during the RWBY hiatus, the reason I started to share my writing was because of Monty. His beautiful creation has brought me and so many other so much joy and humor into my life, which I had desperately needed. When I learned of his passing, I suddenly found myself thinking of a world now suddenly devoid of that joy and happiness. It also didn't help that, a few days later, I learned that one of my cousins passed away suddenly. This was all on top of my typical pile of stress, schoolwork, and other daily problems. I'll admit, I got really depressed really quickly, and temporarily crawled into a dark place over the last couple of weeks. **

**I realized that there were others feeling the same way I was, and I found that talking about it with them made me realize that I was not alone, and that I had someone to share my feelings with. I'm still depressed, obviously, but I have friends that can help me, and I realized that writing provides me with an outlet to release some of those emotions.**

**However, because of a lack of creative inspiration for this story in particular, I am announcing that I am temporarily placing RWBY: A New Breed of SPARTAN on hiatus. I have been struggling to write this story as an original work. I find myself continuing to borrow plot lines from existing Halo fiction and replacing characters with their RWBY counterparts. I'm finding it difficult to bridge the gap between where the story is now and where I want it to go. So I'm taking an extended break to brainstorm proper ideas for this story to flourish. This does not mean I'm taking a break from writing as a whole. I will turn my attention to my other RWBY fanfic, Chocolate Milk, and maybe write a couple of one-shots I've been brainstorming, but hopefully I can return to this story with some fresh ideas soon.**

**Hang tough, gents. And remember, if you respect someone and their accomplishments, be it your parents, your teacher, a content producer, or even your dog, make sure you let them know that they inspire you.**

**Keep moving forward.**

**-greeny74**


	6. Chapter 4: Into the Woods

**I'M BACK! This story is officially off hiatus! This is my longest chapter yet, and I feel it is some of my best writing to date. In terms of plot for this story, for at least the next few chapters, this story will roughly follow the plot of Halo: the Fall of Reach, with influences from RWBY and other Halo novels. As always, if you like what you have read, please tell me so! I always like reviews, whether it's good or bad, as they help me with my writing process. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the next ones to come!**

**One more thing. Today, as I post this, is June 22, 2015. Today would have been Monty Oum's 34th birthday. Monty's creations are what inspires myself to create. I thank him each day I get to write my stories or watch one of his fantastic animations. It is an absolute privilege to get to be inspired by such talent.**

**Happy birthday, Monty. We all miss you dearly.**

**Keep moving forward.**

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**0730 Hours, February 21, 2529**

**Onboard Albatross dropship,**

**En route to UNSC Military Reservation V-17-B, local designation "Emerald Forest",**

**UNSC Colony World Remnant**

Ruby gazed out the tiny window as the dropship roared over the treetops. The sun was just beginning to peek over the mountain range ringing the forest, giving its snow-capped peaks a pinkish-orange tinge.

A hand on her shoulder brought Ruby's attention back to the interior of the dropship. She turned back to see her golden-haired sister give her a reassuring smile.

"See anything interesting out there?" Yang asked, taking a peek out of the window as well. A thin stream twisted through the lush green forest, a silver snake that emptied into a sizable lake about half a kilometer long.

"Just trees and rocks." Ruby said, returning her gaze to the forest below. "Plenty of steep terrain."

"At least we're over the forest and not those mountains." Blake, Yang's partner, gestured to the range of rocky peaks.

"Nice place for a snowball fight." Weiss said next to Ruby, joining the other three girls in looking out the window.

"Game on, Schnee. Just so you know, I play dirty." Yang chirped with a grin. "Like, loading my snowballs with rocks dirty."

Ruby giggled as Sergeant Port rose from his seat at the head of the troop bay. He cleared his throat, and all 60 children onboard ceased their chattering and focused on him.

"Good morning, trainees!" the sergeant said, his voice booming in the otherwise silent troop bay. "Today's mission is actually pretty simple." He produced a stack of papers and handed them to one of the children, a lean redhead. "Pass these out, Trainee. One for each person."

"Sir!" the young girl smartly saluted and passed out the papers to everyone in the dropship. Ruby received hers and gazed upon it.

"It's a map," she whispered to her teammates. She turned the square piece over in her hands, inspecting the markings. "Well, part of one, anyways."

"You will all use your maps to navigate to a marked extraction point." Sergeant Port said, bringing the attention of the children back onto him. "However, the last trainee to make it to the extraction point will be left behind." He motioned to the wild mountains visible outside the dropship's window. "And it's a very long walk back to base."

Ruby frowned as she processed this information. She didn't want to be last, but she didn't want anyone to be either. All the trainees had in terms of cold weather gear was a heavy parka, canteen, combat fatigues, and hiking boots. Not ideal for long-term wilderness survival.

In the last two years, Ruby had come to know each recruit in the program as family. After that first day of training, Ruby had strengthened the bonds with Weiss and Blake, coming to know them as treasured friends. Even the other recruits were more than just teammates. They were fellow comrades, someone to count on and support. Even the thought of losing one of them pained Ruby. She would do anything to ensure their safety. Ruby decided then and there, if anyone were forced to stay behind on this mission, she would volunteer to take their place. Her mind made up, she returned her attention to the sergeant's briefing.

"First drop off is in five minutes." Port looked at Blake. "Trainee Belladonna," reading the nametag on her fatigues, "you are up first."

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Blake saluted sharply.

Ruby focused on the visible terrain, her mind working out a plan. She spotted the river, and followed it with her eyes as it dumped into the silver lake. That seemed like a good rendezvous point.

She nudged Blake to get her attention. "Head for the lake. I'll spread the word to the rest," she murmured under her breath. Blake gave Ruby a slight nod.

The raven-haired Blake readied herself for the task to come. She could hear slight murmurs spread throughout the ship as Ruby passed the word of their plan. If Sergeant Port heard any of them, he made no motion of showing it.

Before she knew it, the dropship descended and touched down in a clearing. The ramp eased open. Blake rose from her seat and stepped into the woods outside.

Port stood at the open maw of the troop bay. "Good luck, Trainee. See you at the extraction point."

Blake nodded and started to head into the woods. She turned to meet Ruby's eyes one last time before the dropship lifted. She managed to give Blake a minute nod, confirming that everyone else received the message. The ramp finished closing, and the ship's engine's roared as the craft rose into the sky. Blake plunged into the wilderness.

* * *

The raven-haired girl started to head eastward, towards the river she had seen while she was airborne. She wound through the trees until she heard the sound of rushing water, then started to follow it downstream towards the lake.

This environment wasn't new to Blake. She had been forced to learn how to survive in the wilderness during her troubling childhood on the tiny colony of Umbra. Like most of the children of the SPARTAN program, Blake was also an orphan. But she did not lose her parents to the Covenant.

Umbra was one of the smallest human colonies, one that was far flung from Earth. Blake's family had lived on a tiny farm near the edge of a massive forest. Umbra's chief export was foodstuffs meant for the Inner Colonies, with huge commercial farms producing fruits and vegetables meant to be shipped all over the galaxy. The Belladonna family farm was small enough to sustain themselves, while having a little crop left over to sell at their local market. The Belladonnas were not rich, but neither were they poor, and so they lived happily on their farm, unbothered by anyone else.

However, due to Umbra's distance from the Inner Colonies, the majority of its population did not wish to remain part of Earth's galactic empire. Whispers of discontent eventually turned into violence, and insurrection sprouted up among the populace. The rebels began to organize, attacking farms and businesses that were loyal to Earth and her Inner Colonies. As the rebels grew in size, so did their tenacity, as they expanded their attacks to those citizens of Umbra who were still supporters of the UNSC.

Blake's family did not share the views of the Insurrectionists, but instead opted to ignore and avoid the violence by staying on their farm. If they stayed out of the conflict, they figured, the rebels would leave them alone.

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.

Blake was only six years old when the head rebel officers came to their home. Blake remembered the large men wearing uniforms, a red ribbon with claw marks tied around their arms. Blake was ushered out of the room while the leader talked with her father. The man laid it out for him: either he surrendered his farm and its crops to the rebels as support for their cause, or the entire family would be detained under suspicion of being Earth supporters. With the threat against his family, Blake's father responded by punching the leader square in the jaw. The gunshots sounded a few seconds later.

Blake's mother had screamed for her daughter to run for the woods as fast as she could, before the rebels turned their weapons on her as well. Blake darted for the forest, not daring to look back to see if she was being followed. Luckily for Blake, she had played in the forest so many times before, and so she was very familiar with the terrain. She ran straight to one of her favorite hiding spots: a hollowed out trunk of a monstrous oak. She crawled inside and hid as she heard the men brush past through the foliage, searching for her. Eventually, time passed and the men appeared to have left the woods. Night had fallen, so Blake had felt safe enough to crawl out of her hiding spot and return to her home. As she got closer to the edge of the woods, an orange glow became visible. She smelled smoke. When she reached the tree line, she collapsed to her knees, a sob escaping her throat.

Her house, the barn, even the fields themselves, were engulfed in massive flames. The rebels had torched her home.

Her family was murdered. Her home was burning to ash. Blake Belladonna was only six years old girl, left to die in the wilderness.

However, Blake was very resourceful for her age. She had acted quickly, salvaging whatever meager supplies she could from her homestead. Thanks to the knowledge she had learned from her parents, Blake was actually well suited to survive in the woods. She could make a fire with practiced ease, knew which plants and fungi were edible in the forest, and, with practice, became a proficient hunter, managing to take down game as large as a deer.

For almost two years, Blake not only survived, but flourished, living off the forests of Umbra. She grew to be extremely close with nature, learning the sights and sounds of the wilderness with incredible skill. One day, a passing group of hunters discovered the young girl living in her makeshift tree shelter, looking more like a feral cat than a human being. After the initial shock of human contact passed, which involved Blake nearly slitting the throat of one the hunters, she allowed herself to be taken back to the nearest settlement, where she eventually opened up about the events at her homestead.

Blake was sent to an orphanage in New Austin, the largest city on Umbra. She lived there for two months, trying to reintegrate herself back into civil life. But a part of her still yearned to return to the woods. She felt in control of her life when she was living on her own. At the orphanage, she was forced to abide by the rules of civilization, which made her feel restricted. She strived to do something more with her life. So when a UNSC officer came to speak with her, inquiring about her life in the forest, she immediately accepted his invitation to the SPARTAN program. Here was a chance to leave her home, which had brought nothing but bad memories, behind for a future in which she could strive to become great. Her pervious knowledge and strength from her past experiences gave her a leg up on the other children, and with the skills she had learned with her SPARTAN training, she had become one of the top candidates in the entire program.

* * *

Blake reached the lake, a shimmering silver sheet in the early morning light. She began to traverse around the edge of the water, careful amber eyes scanning the tree line for any signs of her fellow trainees.

She had only walked a few dozen meters when she heard the soft call of an owl. She moved towards the sound, which appeared to be coming from a tall oak tree. "Hello there, owl," she called up into the branches.

The branches rustled. "That's Sergeant Owl to you, Trainee!" a voice flitted back. Blake stepped away as a blonde blur thudded from the branches. Yang rose from her landing and brushed herself off. She extended her arm to Blake. "Nice to see you, partner,"

Blake clasped Yang's arm in an extended handshake. "Likewise." She looked around. "Any sign of the others?"

Yang shook her head. "Not yet. You're the first I've seen. Everyone got the message though. We set the lake to be out rendezvous point."

Blake scanned the shores of the lake, trying to spot any of her teammates. She saw no one, but that was not a bad sign. If they were smart, they would be undercover until they made friendly contact, just like she did with Yang. She set out, motioning to her partner. "Come on, let's go find them."

It took about 30 minutes to traverse the circumference of the lake, meeting up with the rest of the SPARTAN trainees. Eventually all 60 children gathered in a clearing next to the lake.

Weiss suggested that they get everyone's map pieces together. Blake assembled the map as the rest of her teammates studied it, poring over the pages looking for the extraction point. "Any ideas?" Weiss asked.

"It's hard to say," Blake said. "Some of these pages don't match, and some are copies." She eventually got the map together, and located the lake. "Here we are," Blake pointed to the shore where the trainees had gathered, "and here is what looks like the extraction point." She showed the other three girls a large open clearing on the map. Blake studied the map and frowned. "If this legend is correct, it's almost 10 kilometers from our location. It's a full day's hike."

Ruby nodded. "Then we'd better get moving. Blake, you lead the way and navigate. Pick two others to move ahead and act as scouts."

Blake nodded and walked over to the rest of the group. She picked two children: Ren, a quiet boy with jet black hair who had some of the best senses of the group, and Pyrrha, the lean redhead who was quick and alert. The two melted into the trees. The rest of the children readied themselves for a long march.

The group started their journey through the wilderness. For the most part, the trip through the woods was pretty straight forward. As the sun got higher, the temperature warmed to a much tolerable level. Every once in a while, either Ren or Pyrrha would signal the group to halt and take cover, hearing something out of place in the forest. But it always turned out be some sort of animal.

At midday the group stopped to rest near a small stream. Everyone stretched and relaxed, some taking the opportunity to fill their canteens, hydrating themselves from the cool water.

Ruby and her teammates gathered to consult the map. They were making good time, on track to make it to the clearing right around sundown. But something was nagging at Ruby.

"This seems too easy," she said to the other three. "Since when does Sarge make his exercises so clear cut? There has to be something we're missing."

Yang agreed. "Normally we would have been ambushed by the trainers five times over by now." She shrugged.

The lack of challenges worried Ruby. But she and the rest of the trainees had handled everything Sergeant Port and his staff had thrown at them.

Team RWBY, as the four girls had come to call themselves, had come together and bonded over the rigorous training they had undergone over the last year. Ruby herself became much stronger than she could ever think possible. She was only ten years old, but had the body and strength of an 18-year old Olympic athlete. Ruby was confident that she and the rest of the children could complete this task and any task the trainers threw at them.

"We'll just have to keep our eyes open for any surprises." Ruby said to her three teammates. "We should probably get going again. We're still about 4 kilometers from the clearing."

One of the other children, a tall boy with brunt orange hair, waked up to the four. "Speaking of which, what happens when we get there? We will all be arriving at the extraction point at the same time. So who gets left behind? We should decide now."

Ruby stood and faced the boy. "Nobody is getting left behind, Cardin. We'll figure out what our plan is when we arrive at the clearing."

Another boy, a wiry blonde named Jaune, stood as well. "But Sergeant Port said-"

"I know what Sergeant Port said, Ruby interrupted. "We are all going to make it back to base. Even if it has to be me that stays behind, I will make sure you all get back." She started back on the trail to the extraction point. "Come on, we're wasting daylight."

The next few hours passed without incident. The group steadily made their way towards the clearing. The sun sank lower into the sky, casting dark shadows over the forest.

Finally, Ren doubled back and said that they were close. The group halted, as Ruby and Weiss went forward to investigate.

The two girls stopped just short of the edge of the field, taking in the surroundings with careful eyes.

The Albatross dropship sat at the far edge of the field, its floodlights illuminating everything in a fifty meter radius. Four men sat on crates, dressed in white shirts and fatigues.

Ruby and Weiss shared a look. "What do you think?" Weiss said to her partner. "It's hard to tell from here, but I don't recognize those men."

Ruby nodded. "There's no telling what they will do to us if we show ourselves. Let's head back."

The two doubled back to where the rest of the group waited in the shadowy forest. They explained what they saw.

The children all murmured as they processed this information. Jaune spoke up first. "So…what's the plan, Ruby?"

Ruby didn't know why he expected her to know what to do. She noticed that everyone was looking at her, waiting for her response. She glanced at her teammates. Yang, Blake and Weiss all had the same look on their faces: a reassuring smile. They had her back, no matter what. They would support her decision.

Ruby swallowed and began. "All right. So we don't know who these men are or what their intentions are. So we find out."

The children all nodded to each other, agreeing with Ruby's logic.

Ruby turned to her teammates. "Blake, you're the fastest. I need you to be our rabbit."

Blake smiled. "Happy to oblige," she said, as she removed her parka and began to stretch and loosen up.

Ruby turned to the rest. "Blake is going to run to edge of the clearing and let the men see her. Then she'll double back to us, trying to get a few of them to follow. She'll lead them back past this spot, where one of us will fake being injured. Any volunteers?

Yang raised her hand. "I'll do it." She knelt and dirtied her legs a bit, making them look scuffed and torn.

Ruby nodded. "The rest of us will hide in the brush. If any of these men do anything but try to help Yang, we will take them down by force. Use our superior numbers to overwhelm them."

Jaune grinned. "Like wolves against a moose," he remarked.

Ruby smiled back. "Exactly." She looked over everybody. "Any questions?" No one spoke. She nodded. "Okay. Let's get to work."

The majority of the children readied themselves, melting into the brush. Yang positioned herself in the middle of the path. Weiss purposefully scraped Yang's shin with the heel of her boot. Blood welled from the wound.

"Oh, my leg. It hurts," Yang moaned, sitting on the ground with a slight grin on her face. Weiss rolled her eyes.

Ruby and Blake moved to the edge of the clearing. Ruby turned to her teammate. "Are you sure you can handle this? I don't want to risk you if you're not comfortable being bait."

Blake smiled and prepared to position herself. "No worries. I'm ready for this." Ruby nodded and moved about fifty meters away from Blake's position, far enough away to make Blake appear that she was alone, but close enough that she could observe the entire area. She settled in to watch.

Blake emerged from the woods at a cautious pace. "Hey! Are you guys the extraction team?"

The four men looked up and saw the raven-haired girl moving towards them. One of them stood. "There's one of them. I'll get her. You three stay here and wait for the others." He began to move towards her, a humbler stun baton hidden behind his back.

Blake stopped and turned back. "Hang on, I left my jacket back there. Be back in a second!" She took off into the brush.

The man ran after her. "Hey!" he shouted, trying to catch up.

Ruby heard the other three men chuckle to themselves. "These kids won't know what hit 'em," one said to the others.

Ruby had heard enough. She ran to catch up to the man after Blake, but realized he had no chance to catch her. She slowed down when she reached where Yang waited.

The man stopped when he saw Yang lying in the path, clutching her leg.

"Please help me, sir," Yang whimpered. "I think my leg is broken."

The man raised his baton. "I got your 'help' right here, kid."

Ruby picked up a rock and threw it, but missed.

The man looked around, suddenly alert. "Who's there?" Yang took the opportunity to roll to her feet and dart away.

Suddenly, 60 children exploded out of the brush, pelting the man with rocks. The man convulsed with each strike.

Blake sprang down from a tree branch and smashed a rock into the side of the man's head. He went down in a heap, instantly unconscious.

Ruby emerged from the brush as the rest of the children sorted themselves. They all looked at the man on the ground.

Weiss looked at Ruby. "So, what now?"

Ruby had a look of rage on her face. "You heard what he was about to do to Yang. He's not one of us. Our trainers would never hurt us like that. We need to take out the rest of them."

The children all moved to the edge of the clearing, still out of sight. The three remaining men were still waiting for their companion to return.

Ruby looked at Blake. "I need you to be our rabbit again. Just get them to the edge of the clearing. We'll do the rest."

Blake nodded and ran out into the clearing. She called out to the three men. "Hey! This guy fell and hit his head. I think he's hurt bad. Hurry!"

The men stood and ran as quick as they could towards Blake. When they got close enough, Ruby gave the signal. "NOW!"

The children roared as they enveloped the men in a wall of flesh and fists. The adults tried their hardest to fight them off, landing some hard blows. One man drove a fist straight into Jaune's nose, driving him back. Before he could finish him, however, Yang retaliated with a kick to his groin. The man went down in pain.

Finally, the fight was over. All three men were knocked out, bloody welts all over their bodies. The children cheered in celebration. Pyrrha helped a shaky Jaune to his feet.

Ruby looked around the makeshift camp. There was no sign of anyone else. She marched up the ramp into the dropship, checking the cockpit. Completely empty.

Ruby looked at the dashboard of instruments and recognized the controls for the autopilot AI program. She flipped a switch and the dashboard came to life with colorful lights. "Hello," a warm female voice spoke from the overhead speaker. "Welcome aboard the D96-TCE Albatross dropship, designated as 'Beacon 1'. I am the artificial autopilot program designed to pilot this vessel. You may call me Sheila."

Ruby wrinkled her brow. "Okay…Sheila. My friends and I are looking to get back to Beacon. Can you fly us there?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Sheila replied. Please inform all passengers to embark. We will take off when everyone is aboard."

Ruby grinned. "Okay, hang on a second." Ruby ran out of the dropship. She waved her hand towards the troop bay. Everyone aboard!"

The children streamed up the ramp. Yang paused in front of Ruby. "But what about-"

"Don't worry about it," Ruby said. She waited until she was the last one left outside, then she herself climbed into the dropship. "Okay, Sheila. We're all on board."

"Preparing to take off," the computer program replied. The ramp eased up and sealed itself. The dropship fired its jets and rose into the night sky. It spun on its axis, then jetted back towards Beacon Military Academy.

* * *

Ruby Rose stood at attention inside Sergeant Port's office. There were no windows. The corrugated steel walls made her feel like she was standing in a shipping container.

A bead of sweat traveled down back as trembled slightly. Sergeant Port glowered at her as he read the after action report. His bushy eyebrows narrowed as he scrutinized the young trainee.

The door slid open. Colonel Ozpin and Major Goodwitch walked in.

Ruby snapped to attention and smartly saluted. "Colonel, sir! Major, ma'am!"

Colonel Ozpin gazed upon Ruby. "At ease, Trainee Rose."

Ruby dropped her hand, but remained at rapt attention. Cold fear slipped into her gut as Sergeant Port continued to stare at her. What was going to happen to her?

"Trainee Rose," Sergeant Port began, "explain again you actions during this training exercise."

"Sir! The men we encountered did not identify themselves. They threatened my teammates with bodily harm. We defended ourselves in kind."

Port's eyes scoured the report. "Hmm. So it seems. And taking the dropship back to Beacon without a pilot?"

Ruby swallowed hard. "I activated the autopilot program, sir. It lifted off when everybody was aboard. I was the last person to board, sir, so if anyone was to be left behind, it would have-"

"I did not ask for a crew list, Trainee," Port growled. He turned to the Colonel. "What should I do with her, sir?"

Colonel Ozpin smiled. "Isn't it obvious, Sergeant?" He tuned to Ruby. "Trainee Ruby Rose, your actions showed resourcefulness and bravery in the face of nearly impossible odds. What's more, you cared for the safety and security of the rest of your teammates. I am hereby promoting you to Petty Officer, Third Class." His smile grew wider as Ruby's eyes grew in shock and surprise. 'Congratulations, Ruby. You are now the leader of the entire SPARTAN class."


End file.
